The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Osteospermum plant, botanically known as Osteospermum eklonis (DC) T. Norl., commonly known as Cape Daisy, and hereinafter referred to by the variety denomination ‘Sunny Maxima’.
The new Osteospermum is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor, Bjarne Larsen, in Stige, Odense, Denmark. The objective of the breeding program was to develop a new Osteospermum cultivar with upright, compact plant habit, interesting inflorescence color, good branching performance, low growth retardant requirements, and low temperature tolerance.
The new Osteospermum originated from a planned crossing of two Osteospermum selected parent plants made by the inventor in 2003 in Stige, Odense, Denmark. The female or seed parent is an Osteospermum ecklonis (DC) T. Norl. cultivar designated ‘1.154.93 ’ (unpatented). The male or pollen parent is an Osterospermum ecklonis (DC) T. Norl. cultivar designated ‘998’ (unpatented). The new Osteospermum cultivar ‘Sunny Maxima’ was selected by the inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above crossing in 2003 in a controlled environment in Stige, Odense, Denmark.
Asexual reproduction of the new Osteospermum cultivar by apical stem cuttings was first performed in June 2003 in Stige, Odense, Denmark, and has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new cultivar reproduces true-to-type.